The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development welcomes the publication on February 5, 2026, of the new Statutes of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, the result of a long and shared process of institutional reform of the Foundation. It was established in 1984 after Pope John Paul II's first visit to Africa, during which he was able to see for himself the great tragedy of the peoples affected by drought and desertification. The Pontifical Foundation is an instrumental body of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD), whose values and mission it shares in promoting integral human development in the Sahel region.
The process that culminates in the publication of the Statutes stems from the need to align the entity with the new regulatory framework of the Roman Curia and Vatican legislation applicable to legal bodies instrumental to the Curia. In this regard, the appointment in December 2024 of the Pontifical Delegate, His Excellency Monsignor Florent Hassa Koné (Bishop of San, Mali, member of the Foundation's Board of Directors) was made with the aim of accompanying the final stages of this process in constant dialogue with the Holy See. This process was carried out by the DPIHD, in collaboration with the Secretariat of State, the Secretariat for the Economy, and the Governorate.
With the new Statutes, the Foundation becomes even closer to the local church, flexibly accompanying processes towards faster and more sustainable progress and responding in a targeted manner to the many challenges facing the territory.